GuShiio.com Uncover the multi-party network of Libra project.
Author: Weilin, PANews
It has been nearly 10 days since Argentine President Millay deleted the LIBRA token after promoting it on platform X, but the truth behind the incident is still confusing. At the time of the incident, on February 15, Millay’s deletion of LIBRA’s tweet triggered a sharp drop in tokens, and a large number of encryption users suffered losses. At the time, KIP Protocol was identified as the initiator of the LIBRA token, making huge profits through rug pull. Although the KIP Protocol issued a series of clarifications, it is still in the shadow of the incident. As more information was traced back and exposed, Kelsier Ventures, the originator of the token and market maker, gradually emerged.
After the incident, PANNews contacted Julian Peh, CEO of KIP Protocol, for an interview. Julian responded positively to the incident. He said that KIP had not initiated the Libra project or Project Viva La Libertad. KIP was only invited to join the project on February 13 and did not profit from the project. The reason why relevant tweets were issued after LIBRA issued the coins was at the request of the middleman and based on the trust that President Millay had issued the X post. KIP never controlled or led the project, but was artificially pushed to the front desk and used as a cover for other individuals. These clarifications present more details of the incident and also give crypto users a deeper understanding of the complex relationship that followed.
The following is the full text of this interview:
PANews: When did KIP first have ideas and ideas for the Viva la Libertad project? Who are the participants in this project and what role does KIP play in it?
Julian Peh：First of all, I want to reiterate that KIP did not take the initiative to propose and conceive ideas for this project. We participated in the project as an invited party. KIP Protocol did not initiate the Viva la Libertad project, nor did it manage or lead the $Libra token issuance process, nor did it receive any tokens before and after the token issuance, nor did it profit from the token issuance. Whether it is the $Libra token project or the Viva la Libertad project, the KIP team is not actually involved. The project has been described by many parties as a KIP Protocol project. News reports that KIP is the issuer, KIP is the project development team, and KIP is the trading team. These are completely wrong facts, facts that confuse right and wrong, and facts that fool the public. The release of these false facts seriously interfered with the public’s judgment of the entire incident and was also very unfair to me and my team.
We were notified and invited by Novelli to participate in the Viva La Libertad project on February 13, 2025, when we learned that Kelsier was already responsible for the token issuance related to the project. Prior to this, there were no discussions between KIP and Kelsier Project Viva La Libertad or any of its related parties. We were clearly told that we did not need to participate in any token-related activities, so KIP did not make any tweets promoting Libra. The token issuance is entirely initiated, managed and executed by Kelsier’s CEO Hayden Davis, a fact he acknowledged in this interview with Coffeezilla.
PANews：If KIP is not the initiator, what is its role?
Julian Peh：On February 13, 2025, Mauricio Novelli introduced us to the concept of the project and informed us that Kelsier was already in charge of the project’s operations at the time. KIP’s participation is to help advance small business financing plans in the project and provide infrastructure support to technology companies, including AI-related companies. Our role was originally expected to officially begin after the token issuance phase that Kelsier was responsible for was over. We were never told when the token would be issued, nor when the part we are responsible for would be launched. KIP did not receive any tokens or fees, was not provided with any tokens or fees, did not participate in any token issuance process, and did not manage any related wallets.
PANews: Why does KIP’s name appear on the Viva La Libertad project website?
Julian Peh：The website of the Viva La Libertad project was not created by KIP, and we had never seen its content before it was launched. KIP does not own or control this website. Mauricio Novelli told us that the site is operated by Kelsier, but we were unable to verify this. When we discovered that the website was launched without our knowledge and using our brand, the token issuance had already begun and President Millay had posted tweets in support of the project. Although we are concerned that the content of the website has not been reviewed or approved, there is no time to modify or adjust the website before token prices begin to plummet.
PANews：How did KIP establish contact with Argentine President Millay and the two sides met several times? According to reports, on October 19, 2024, President Millay met with the KIP Protocol representative in Argentina. You and Mauricio Novelli, founder of Argentina Techforum, were present at the time. What is the relationship between Mauricio Novelli and KIP? What role did Mauricio Novelli play in this incident?
Julian Peh：First of all, the description of this question is inaccurate. KIP Protocol does not set up a position as a representative in Argentina. Our company does not have any permanent establishment or staff in Argentina, nor has it entrusted any company or individual to represent our company. In order to explore the South American market, as one of the main sponsors of the Argentina Techforum, I delivered a speech at the forum on October 19, 2024, and as the only representative of the KIP Protocol, I met with President Millay, who was also the speaker.
This was the only meeting I had with President Millay. The person who introduced us to our meeting was Mauricio Novelli, the founder of the forum. President Millay was the last heavyweight speaker at the Argentina Techforum that day. Forum founder Mauricio Novelli introduced President Millay that I was a representative of the KIP Protocol.
Millay and I talked through an interpreter for about 30 minutes about AI, technology and our desire to do more business in Argentina. The president talked about his economic philosophy. No token issuance or any specific initiative was mentioned at the time. At this meeting on October 19, 2024, the Viva La Libertad project and Libra were not mentioned.
PANews：What is your relationship with Mauricio Novelli?
Julian Peh：We first established contact with Novelli at the Tech Forum Argentina conference in October 2024. KIP is one of the main sponsors of the conference (second on the list of sponsors), while Novelli is one of the main organizers of the conference. KIP has never hired Novelli or his company as our representative, agent or consultant.
On February 13, 2025, Novelli invited us to join the Viva La Libertad program. He told us that the issuance of the $Libra token will be handled by Kelsier’s Hayden Davis, and that KIP will not participate in any token-related activities. KIP’s participation is limited to subsequent small business financing plans and providing AI infrastructure to technology companies supported in the plan. As a company known for its AI promotion and application programs, we were asked if we would support this initiative and agreed. KIP does not know in advance the date or time of issuance of the token. KIP was not promoted in any way before the token issuance.
PANNews: According to Argentina’s official statement, the president held talks with Hayden Mark Davis (LIBRA token issuance consultant Kelsier Ventures) at Casa Rosada on January 30, 2025. What is the relationship between Hayden Mark Davis and KIP? What is your relationship with Hayden Davis / Kelsier?
Julian Peh：During the Tech Forum Argentina 2024 in October 2024, we met with Hayden Davis at a sponsor luncheon under the introduction of forum organizers Mauricio Novelli and Manu Torrones Godoy. The two sides did not have in-depth exchanges or discuss any specific projects.
Prior to the launch of the token, Hayden / Kelsier never mentioned to us the Libra token, the Viva La Libertad project, or any token-related project. Before the Libra token price crash, we had no communication with Hayden. After the token was issued and caused misunderstandings, I had to talk to Hayden in order to understand the details of the incident. This was our first contact. Hayden Davis has never been instructed by the KIP Protocol. Hayden Davis also does not represent the KIP Protocol. We never introduced Hayden or Kelsier to anyone.
PANews: Why did KIP choose Kelsier Ventures, a market maker, to work with him? Do you have any prior understanding of their methods of doing things? Kelsier Ventures and the outsourced Indian market maker are also insiders of Mrs. Trump’s tokens MELANIA, ENRON, BOB, RAG and other tokens. Do you know this and do you understand these background?
Julian Peh：Whether in terms of timeline or workflow, there is no case where KIP chose Kelsier Ventures to cooperate. At the time, my team and I had no knowledge of it, nor did we understand the background. This was not our business area and scope of work. We didn’t even have direct contact with Kelsier Ventures and Hayden Davis until the incident occurred.
PANNews: Why did KIP publish supportive remarks and why did it publish statements that it was not a scam (including Julian’s personal reply to X Space)? If KIP has nothing to do with token issuance, why would you post a post on X to support Libra?
Julian Peh：At 11:25 on February 15, Beijing time, Mauricio Novelli asked us to post content supporting the project on X. We posted a tweet at 11:36, using both English and Spanish content provided by Novelli. We did this based on our trust in the X post that President Millay had posted, which shared details of the project at the time. We hope the project will be successful because we believe its stated goal of providing financial support to Argentine companies is a very worthy mission. After we posted the tweet, President Millay deleted the content he had originally posted on X. We were forced to claim the project and initially suffered a lot of anger and attack that were unable to clarify.
PANNews: Why did KIP CEO Julian Peh still reply to a large number of posts on X and start hosting Space after declaring that he had nothing to do with the token issuance?
Julian Peh：After the token price crash, a lot of anger and emotion were directed at me, KIP and my team. KIP team members, especially female members, have suffered death threats and harassment, and even personal information has been leaked. I decided to focus all my attention in one place, so I responded to many posts and started hosting Space. At the time, I didn’t know what was happening because Mauricio Novelli could not be reached. Under pressure, I thought the most correct thing to do was to step up and respond to protect myself and the team, but I didn’t have a clear understanding of the overall situation at the time. It wasn’t until hours later that we contacted Hayden Davis for the first time.
PANNews: Did you communicate with Millay before and after he deleted Twitter? At present, President Millay and his opposition have launched anti-corruption investigations into Libra’s coin issuance. Have these investigations affected KIP? How will you and the project respond?
Julian Peh：Except for the meeting on October 19, we have never had any communication with President Millay or the president’s office. I think President Millay cannot completely clearly distinguish the connection and difference between the two projects,$Libra token and Viva la Libertad. He is also not fully aware of the relationship between the various parties and what kind of services the KIP Protocol I represent and I provide at what stage. I hope President Millay can see our statement and understand the truth of the facts.
PANews: How will KIP rebuild community trust in the future and ensure that users ‘interests are fully protected?
Julian Peh：We highly cooperate with any investigation that can shed light on the truth. We won the Chainlink hackathon and the Tencent Cloud Award at the end of 2023. KIP’s products have always maintained the cutting-edge level of technology in the industry. At present, the team will actively and focus on launching new AI products that we have been developing for a long time. As a Singapore AI technology company, KIP Protocol has always been committed to improving development in the AI ecosystem.
PANews: Faced with the huge losses of many users, does KIP Protocol have any compensation strategies? It is said that some KOL has received compensation? (Suspected Barstool founder lost US$5.34 million when buying LIBRA at his address and received US$5 million in compensation)
Julian Peh：We deeply sympathize with the users ‘suffering, but we are not the responsible party for the $LIBRA project. Kelsier Ventures is. We cannot interfere or recommend compensation plans. Kelsier Ventures has never and will not follow KIP’s instructions. On the contrary, as victims of this incident, KIP Protocol and I were implicated by them before we entered into substantive cooperation. We will seek compensation through legal channels. At the same time, my team and I are making every effort to undo the damage caused by the incident to KIP’s own projects and reduce the unwarranted losses suffered by our users.
PANews: Animoca Brands, an investor in KIP, also clarified that he did not know about the coin issue. Did any investment institution know about or participated in the coin issue?
Julian Peh：KIP did not participate in the $Libra issuance process at all, so it was impossible to notify any investment institution.
PANNews: Platforms such as Jupiter and Meteora were accused of making profits on Libra, but these projects were later denied. Does KIP cooperate with these projects?
Julian Peh：Not at all. KIP Protocol is not a company that helps organizations issue tokens. This is not our business, and KIP does not need to interface with these platforms.
PANews: Do you think the current situation with Libra violates the original intention of the project? Will Libra continue to operate according to its original philosophy to support Argentina’s economic development?
Julian Peh：As the victim rather than the initiator of this incident, we are unable to answer the above two questions. At this point, what we lose is permanent reputation and great harm to the team.
Welcome to join the official social community of Shenchao TechFlow
Telegram subscription group: www.gushiio.com/TechFlowDaily
Official Twitter account: www.gushiio.com/TechFlowPost
Twitter英文账号：https://www.gushiio.com/DeFlow_Intern
